EMD Serono Launches New 5 g CYANOKIT® Antidote in Canada
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Oct. 15, 2012 /CNW/ - EMD Serono, a Division of EMD Inc., Canada, an Affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced the launch of a single vial 5 g antidote of CYANOKIT® (Hydroxocobalamin 5 g Powder for Solution for Infusion), Cyanokit is the only Health Canada Schedule F (Recommended) approved antidote indicated for the treatment of both known or suspected cyanide poisoning1.
The new presentation of Cyanokit replaces the former 2.5 g two vial presentation. EMD Serono received a Notice of Compliance from Health Canada in November 2011 to market and sell CYANOKIT® 5 g antidote in Canada.
"The launch of the new antidote will provide healthcare professionals with a more convenient format to treat patients with Cyanide poisoning that can result from inhalation, ingestion, or dermal exposure to various Cyanide-containing compounds," said Deborah Brown, President and Managing Director of EMD Serono, Canada. "This product supports our goal of bringing innovative products and services to patients with unique healthcare needs."
Cyanide is a rapidly acting, highly poisonous chemical that can exist as a colorless gas or a crystal form2. Cyanide poisoning can occur as a result of breathing smoke from household and industrial fires, breathing or swallowing cyanide or having skin exposed to cyanide. The most common source of cyanide poisoning occurs due to smoke inhalation from closed-space fires, an often underappreciated risk that can cause severe injury or death within minutes3,4 .
The presence and extent of cyanide poisoning are often initially unknown. There is no widely available, rapid, confirmatory cyanide blood test. Treatment decisions must often be made on the basis of clinical history and signs and symptoms of cyanide intoxication. If clinical suspicion of cyanide poisoning is high, CYANOKIT® should be administered without delay5 .
About CYANOKIT®
CYANOKIT® (Hydroxocobalamin 5 g Powder for Solution for Infusion) is an emergency treatment (antidote) used in patients with known or suspected cyanide poisoning. The active ingredient in CYANOKIT®, hydroxocobalamin, binds to cyanide that is present in the blood, making it less toxic. The complexed cyanide is then renally excreted from the body. The new CYANOKIT® presentation now consists of a single vial containing 5 g hydroxocobalamin powder which is to be reconstituted in 200mL of Sodium Chloride 0.9% solution for intravenous administration6.
About EMD Serono, Canada
EMD Serono is a Division of EMD Inc., Canada. EMD Inc., Canada, is an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. In Canada, EMD Serono provides innovative drug therapies that address unmet medical needs in the areas of neurodegenerative diseases, fertility and endocrinology. EMD Serono employs approximately 150 people across Canada and is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. For more information, please visit www.emdserono.ca
About Merck Serono
Merck Serono is the biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA. With headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany, Merck Serono offers leading brands in 150 countries to help patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis, infertility, endocrine and metabolic disorders as well as cardiovascular diseases. In the United States and Canada, EMD Serono operates as a separately incorporated subsidiary of Merck Serono.
Merck Serono discovers, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines of both chemical and biological origin in specialist indications. We have an enduring commitment to deliver novel therapies in our core focus areas of neurodegenerative diseases, oncology and rheumatology.
About Merck
Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of €10.3 billion in 2011, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by more than 40,000 employees in 67 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.
For more information, please visit www.merckserono.com or www.merckgroup.com
1 CYANOKIT® Product Monograph October 31, 2011
2 Facts About Cyanide, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
3 Eckstein M, Maniscalco PM. Focus on smoke inhalation--the most common cause of acute cyanide poisoning. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2006;21(2):S49-S55.
4 Guidotti T. Acute cyanide poisoning in prehospital care: new challenges, new tools for intervention. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2006;21(2):S40-S48.
5 CYANOKIT® Product Monograph October 31, 2011
6 CYANOKIT® Product Monograph October 31, 2011
SOURCE: EMD Serono
Shikha Prashar
Tel. 1 905-919-0200 ext 5504
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